Make people with disabilities role models say public as Paralympic Effect takes hold – poll

29 August 2012

The Paralympic Games are already having a major impact on
people’s attitudes to disability, according to a poll conducted on
the eve of the Games opening ceremony.

Nearly three quarters of people (72%) believe that people with
disabilities are not generally visible in the media outside the
Paralympics, while nearly three quarters of people (74%) believe
people with disabilities often experience prejudice or
discrimination, according to the ComRes poll, commissioned by the
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which promotes charitable giving
and provides financial services and social finance to
not-for-profit organisations.

An overwhelming number of people (78%) believe the media should
do more to promote people with disabilities as role models in
society.

The survey suggests that the Paralympic effect will increase
support for organisations which work with people with
disabilities.

Nearly three quarters of people (72%) believe it is important to
donate to charities which support people with disabilities, and
nearly half (44%) say the Paralympic Games will make them more
likely to give to charities which support people with
disabilities.

Nearly two in five people (38%) say they have given money in the
past year to charities working to support people with
disabilities.

Overall, 68% of people said the Paralympic Games are making them
feel more positive about the role of people with disabilities in
society.

Some 35% of people said they did not know where the Paralympic
movement started, although half knew the Games had its origins in
Britain.

The survey found:

72% of people believe it is important to donate to charities
that work to support people with disabilities in the UK.

44% of people think that the Paralympic Games will make them
more likely to give to charities that support people with
disabilities.

68% of people believe that the Paralympic Games are making them
feel more positive about the role of people with disabilities in
society.

78% of people agree that the UK media should do more to promote
people with disabilities as role models in society

74% believe that people with disabilities often experience
prejudice or discrimination in society.

72% believe that with the exception of the Paralympic Games,
people with disabilities are not generally visible in the UK
media.

41% of people disagree that the Government does enough to
support people with disabilities.

38% of people say that in the past year they have donated money
to charities that work to support people with disabilities.

John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation,
said:

“The Paralympic effect is already helping to change attitudes
and make people think more positively about disabled people in
society. That is great news.

“The overwhelming majority of the public believes it is
important to donate to charities working with disabled people – and
we can hope that one of the legacies of the Games will be to
encourage more people to support these important organisations in
the future.”

“The Games will be an exciting festival of sport. They are a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to celebrate and get
behind elite disabled athletes on British soil – surely this will
change the way we think, and cause us to reappraise how we can give
our time and money to support the causes we care about.”

* ComRes interviewed 2045 British adults online between 24th and
27th August 2012. Data was weighted to be demographically
representative of all GB adults.

ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by
its rules. For full data tables visit the ComRes website.